The Board of Regents today (July 16) approved the appointment of Julie Lumeng, M.D., as associate dean for research in the Medical School and assistant vice president for research-clinical and human subjects research for the University of Michigan, and Kathleen L. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., as associate dean for physician scientist education and training in the Medical School, both effective July 1, 2020.
Lumeng (top), who also will serve as executive director for the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR), is a professor in the Department of Pediatrics in the Medical School and a professor of nutritional sciences in the School of Public Health. She has been associate chair for research in the Department of Pediatrics, as well as director of the Center for Human Growth and Development and a member of MICHR’s faculty cabinet.
As a member of the Medical School Office of Research leadership team, Lumeng will aid the Medical School Office of Research in developing and executing a strategic vision to facilitate clinical and translational investigations across the research spectrum, expanding the Medical School’s extramural funding base, enhancing faculty competitiveness, and increasing our global reputation for scholarly excellence.
Her research focuses on applying emerging science in child development and behavior to the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity. She has been principal investigator (PI) on 15 extramural grants, including four R01s, and is currently the PI on $6.4M in total extramural funding.
Lumeng received her medical degree from the University of Michigan, where she also completed her pediatric residency. She completed a fellowship at the Boston University School of Medicine and is board-certified in developmental and behavioral pediatrics.
Collins (bottom), who was appointed director of the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) in the Medical School in May 2020, is a professor of microbiology and immunology and internal medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases.
In her associate dean role, she is responsible for coordinating, integrating, and administering activities related to physician scientist postgraduate training programs, and overseeing all aspects of MSTP.
She is an expert in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) biology and the mechanisms of HIV disease pathogenesis. Her laboratory focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying HIV persistence. To provide better therapies, her team is focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms of viral persistence within cellular reservoirs.
Collins earned her M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the Medical Scientist Training Program. She received clinical training in internal medicine at Harvard University’s affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Thereafter, she was trained as an infectious disease fellow in a combined Harvard-affiliated program and did postdoctoral training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.